Three-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome claims he was followed onto the footpath and “rammed” by an “impatient” driver in an incident that has alarmed cycling fans.
Froome was training in southern France, when the incident took place.
He was not hurt, but a picture he posted on Twitter on Tuesday, shows his bike was “totalled”.
The picture shows the rear wheel of Froome’s bike was severely buckled on impact. The frame was also bent.
The Team Sky rider, who is believed to have reported the incident to police, said of the altercation: “Just got rammed on purpose by an impatient driver who followed me onto the pavement!”
“Thankfully I’m okay. Bike totalled. Driver kept going,” the 31-year-old added.
The picture Froome posted was geotagged from Beausoleil in France, which is near his Monaco home.
Cycling fans were glad to hear Froome had escaped unhurt, but alarmed a motorist would target a cyclist on the pavement.
TV presenter and avid cyclist Jeremy Vine, a victim of numerous run-ins with motorists himself, re-tweeted Froome’s post and jokingly asked where French President-elect Emmanuel Macron was.
Channel 4 News journalist Krishnan Guru-Murthy also shared the post and asked his followers to help find the driver responsible.
Froome is not taking part in the current Giro d’Italia but is likely to race in June’s traditional week-long Tour de France warm-up event, the Criterium du Dauphine, which he has won three times, the BBC reported.
This year’s Tour de France takes place from 1-23 July.
Froome’s run-in with a motorist follows the death of Italian cyclist Michele Scarponi after he was involved in a collision with a van during a training ride in April.